Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a romantic holiday, right? So, why did ours go so wrong? …In every sense. Brad and I had wanted to go to Seven Springs for years for the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, but it’s so expensive, we never seemed to have the money. This year, we had the extra money to indulge for once. Well, because of the crowd that they attract especially during the skiing season, the restaurant does not accept reservations, however per the manager…or whoever answered the phone when I called…we should arrive 30-45 minutes prior to the time we wished to eat. Ok…that sounded reasonable. There are many little shops that we could look in while waiting for dinner.
So, after work, I ran home to shower and change for our valentine’s date. Not even thinking that we were going to the mountains where it is going to be snowing and considerably colder, neither of us “dressed” weather appropriate. Neither of us took coats. It didn’t dawn on me till we could see the snow covered ski slopes that I should have probably brought a coat. Well, we were there so, not much we could do about it at that point. So, once we finally arrive, I asked the parking attendant where to park to go to Helen’s. The website said that Helen’s was where the seafood buffet was. Well, I guess the website forgot to mention that there are 2 Helen’s restaurants. That would be my luck. So, of course I parked near the Helen’s we were NOT going to, unbeknownst to me at the time. Freezing my tush off, we walked up these steps that seemed to go on forever to Helen’s only to discover that we were at the wrong one and were pointed in the direction of the real Helen’s (the one with the seafood buffet)….on the other side of the resort!!! My legs were frozen by this point as we walked back down the endless staircase to the other side of the resort where we finally found the other Helen’s. After more stairs, thankfully inside the resort, we found our way to the reservation desk….An hour to an hour and a half waiting time. OMG!!! Good thing I ate lunch because I’d pass out from starvation by the time we would finally get a table.
So, we put our names on the list, went to the bar to get a couple drinks, and then started off to the shops to browse. When I realized that you couldn’t hear the names being called from where the shops were, we traipsed back to the restaurant waiting area where I must have asked the hostess a half a dozen times how much longer before our names were to be called. Two hours later, they finally called our names. 2 HOURS! We graciously took our seats, ordered our drinks and went to the buffet, only to find that they had majorly changed the buffet from what it used to be. Now, Brad had been there before, years ago, but vividly remembered what was SUPPOSED to be on the buffet. They no longer offered all-you-can-eat lobster. No, you have to purchase a “lobster card”…good for ONE lobster. Everything else on the buffet was all-you-can-eat. So, for $47.95 per person, you got ONE lobster, and all-you-can-eat pick and peel shrimp, snow crabs (that looked totally unhealthy), some seafood salad stuff (they all grossed me out), scallops, shrimp scampi, breads, and desert. Yeah…that was the extent of it. We were both so pissed, but what could we do? By the time we got our table, all the other restaurants were closed; it was 10pm so there were limited options as far as eating. We got the most of what we could from the buffet, which wasn’t much. It was then that I said to brad, “I’m gonna get my money’s worth one way or another.” I got every expensive desert from the buffet that I could and took it back to the table. Talk about killing my diet.
I got crème Brule, 24K gold airbrushed chocolate cheesecake, decadent chocolate mousse, New York Cheesecake, and a couple others that I don’t quite know what they were, but they looked good and so I grabbed them. Now, at a buffet, they do not give you take out boxes. Haha…I asked anyways. The waitress says, “Well, since you waited so long for a table, and I’ve had it with this place, if you won’t say anything, neither will I.” hehe. Now that’s what I’m talkin about. So, I ate the deserts that I couldn’t box up, and took the rest home. I know…I’m bad. But the deserts were sooo good.
That wasn’t the end of our valentine’s weekend.
Saturday morning we went out for a valentine’s breakfast, did a lil shopping, and then hung out at home for the afternoon. We ordered a pizza and popped in “Nights in Rodanthe”. I had debated on whether or not I wanted to watch that movie because right before my mom passed away, we had plans to go to the theatre and see that movie. When I heard it was coming out on DVD, I went and bought it but decided I would only watch it when I was ready. I don’t know why I decided that Valentine’s Day was the day I would watch it. I guess because all day, I was feeling depressed and missing my mom. Maybe I wanted to feel closer to her. It was while watching the movie that it finally hit me. I had been waiting for the moment that it would finally hit me that she was gone…and it did. Brad was so good with me. He just held me as I cried, giving me words of encouragement. Nothing has changed. Mom is still gone, only now, it is more real for me. Perhaps it was watching the movie that made me realize it, or perhaps it was just time. Whatever the reason, I still miss her as much today as I did when she died.
Most people didn’t understand the relationship that my mom and I had. On the surface, many people probably thought I was the worst kid. I did a lot of messed up things as a teenager that I regret, and my mother and I both came to terms with many things. I could tell her anything and she would never get mad. She always gave the best advice. We could joke around with each other in a way that most people would find offensive. We’d call each other names and laugh about it while others may say, “I can’t believe you let her talk to you like that!” But my mom wasn’t like that. We had the kind of relationship that we could be like that with each other and still love each other just as much. She’d call me 8 times a day and drive me nuts, but I’d call her with my many problems and drive her nuts with my antics. I wish she was still here so I could tell her how much I loved having her as a mom. She always asked me if I thought she was a good mom. She used to make me so mad when she would ask…because she WAS a good mom and she never gave herself enough credit for it, nor did I. I wish I could call her and thank her for being my mom and putting up with all my shit. I wish it didn’t take this for me to realize just how much I love her. I always loved her and I always knew that I did, but now that she’s gone, I feel like I took her for granted all too many times, and I wish I could tell her I was sorry. I just hope that wherever she is, she knows just how much I do love her.
(Mom's Valentine's Alter)
